Hospital official defends pay deal Hospital official defends pay deal (March 04, 2005)

Court will hear case filed by Voice

By Julie O'Shea

While El Camino Hospital "doesn't have much to hide," board chair Mark O'Connor still said he believes CEO Lee Domanico's salary is private information.

O'Conner's comments refer to a lawsuit filed by the Voice in Santa Clara County Superior Court last week, demanding the hospital board release the employment contract of Domanico, who was hired in October 2000 for a reported annual salary of $350,000. O'Connor said Domanico's salary falls in the "medium range" when compared to other hospital CEOs.

"I really don't have much to say. I guess we will just let the chips fall where they may," O'Connor said Tuesday. "I think we are legally on sound ground"

The hospital maintains that Domanico's contract is protected from disclosure by the U.S. Constitution and a special tax exemption from the Internal Revenue Service. However, according to state law, "every employment contract between a state or local agency and any public official or public employee is a public record."

When contacted by the Voice, officials at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and Sequoia Hospital readily disclosed information about their top administrators' salaries and contracts.

El Camino officials, on the other hand, claim the hospital, which has nonprofit status, is not a local agency and therefore, doesn't have to reveal its CEO's employment contract.

However, according to the Brown Act, California's open meeting law, the hospital is indeed considered a local agency and must turn over details of its top executive's salary. The Brown Act defines local agencies as "entities that are legislative bodies of a local agency pursuant to subdivisions"

The hospital is governed by a healthcare district, which is managed by a publicly-elected board of directors and considered a local agency. The five people who sit on the district's board also are the same five individuals who sit on the hospital board.

"I think it is pretty clear that the hospital is a local agency under the Brown Act," said Judy Alexander, the attorney representing the Voice in the case. "In my view, it would be silly for them to fight this. It's going to drive up costs, and they're going to lose."

O'Connor questioned where the line is drawn between the public's right to know and an employee's right to privacy, an issue examined extensively over the years by newspapers across the country.

"Where does this end?" O'Connor said. "If you use the logic of the public's right to know, it will be neverending."

Would the hospital be required to turn over copies of Domanico's day-to-day calendar listings and appointments, O'Connor asked in a phone interview with the Voice.

O'Connor speculated that Domanico is being targeted by a group of doctors who want him to step down from the position.

"There are a bunch of doctors who have an ax to grind," O'Connor said. "Their end goal is for Mr. Domanico to leave, because Mr. Domanico has brought El Camino Hospital into the 21st century."

Domanico has not responded to repeat requests for comment.

Lawyers for the newspaper and hospital were scheduled to appear in court March 8 (after the Voice's press deadline), where a judge would lay out important dates in the case.
E-mail Julie O'Shea at joshea@mv-voice.com

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